The School to Prison Pipeline

My Statement: 

I argue that the school-to-prison pipeline can be prevented by eliminating the zero-tolerance policy and integrating effective programs to reduce risk and improve protective factors for youths at risk for delinquency. The school-to-prison pipeline is a construct that works to decrease the probability of school success for children and increase the likelihood of negative life outcomes (Skiba et al., 2014). 

Background:

It essentially pushes children out of the classroom and into the streets (Archer, 2009). The school-to-prison pipeline has led to a “get tough” approach in schools which essentially mirrors the treatment youths in the criminal justice system face (Wald and Losen, 2003). This “get tough” approach led to the development of the zero-tolerance policy which enacted mandatory suspensions or explosions for violent behavior such as fighting, assault, harassment, vandalism, destruction of property, etc (Mallet, 2016). This issue affects students' learning achievement due to the amount of time they are pulled out of school due to suspensions or expulsions.

Research Findings: 

As stated by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2022, the school-to-prison pipeline begins with inadequate resources such as overcrowded classrooms, lack of qualified teachers, and insufficient funding for counseling, special education services, and textbooks. All of these increased dropouts and have led to the implementation of zero-tolerance policies where students are expelled for nonsense reasons such as bringing nail clippers to school  (“School to prison pipeline,” 2022). These harsh disciplines push students down the pipeline and leave them without constructive activities which leads to them falling behind their peers (“School to prison pipeline,” 2022). The school-to-prison pipeline deprives children of beneficial educational opportunities, future employment, and participation in democracy (Lewis, 2022). 

 Schools adopted the zero-tolerance policy in the early 1900s which led to the get-tough approach to discipline in schools which mirrors the treatment of youths in the criminal justice system (Wald & Losen, 2003). The zero-tolerance policy doubled the number of students suspended annually since 1974 (Wald & Losen, 2003). However, the main targets of these policies are students of color, showing that minority students are disproportionately impacted by the school-to-prison pipeline and are the ones who are typically disciplined in school (Archer, 2009). 

Solutions:

Positive climates lead to less risk-taking, violent, and problem behaviors (Skiba et al., 2014). To reduce this, schools need to create a nurturing, positive safe environment that establishes clear expectations (Lewis, 2022). They need to create a positive school climate that focuses on disciplining inside of school and focusing on keeping students in the classroom (Lewis, 2022). I will implement Lewis’s method and create a safe and welcoming environment that keeps students in the classroom instead of kicking them out and eventually leading to expulsion or suspension. Another way to address this problem is to push for the disciplinary alternative schools to have the proper materials, funding, and teachers to keep the students from falling behind their peers when they return to a traditional school (“School to prison pipeline,” 2022).

These methods and strategies will improve the classroom environment by helping create a safe space for all students and will prevent them from feeling singled out. Keeping students in the classroom while still being disciplined will show all students that they need to behave because either way they will be learning and will not be kicked out of the classroom. This will incentivize students to be on their best behavior since they will not see a point in misbehaving to miss out on lessons they have no interest in. This being said it will improve the classroom's achievement scores as a whole since no one is missing lessons. These strategies will help set students up for success in the long run and keep them off the streets. This will also improve the relationship between students and teachers since there will not be a negative stigma attached to students/teachers due to behavior.